Dance With the Devil
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Tonks realizes that, if it means protecting Ginny, she'll gladly give into the Black side of her nature. Ginny/Draco; Ginny/Tonks. Language, implied rape and abuse. It's rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

_**Dance with the Devil**_

Tonks probably hated her family as much as they hated her. Luckily, most of the psychotic ones were tucked away in Azkaban—or dead—but she still had to deal with a few distant relatives who were still clinging to the Black tradition of evil. That was why, after the war, she hadn't taken the training job Kingsley had offered. She wanted to be out in the chaos. Tonight was sure to be an interesting one for the Black family, because no matter how much either side tried to deny it, she was one of them. She had a little bit of Black blood running through her veins, and that, she knew, would probably make a difference as she dealt with them tonight.

Well, technically it was the Malfoy family she'd be dealing with, she thought as she took a drink of water. Still, Draco was her cousin. Maybe that's why Ginny had come to her instead of going to one of her brothers. Or maybe it was because she knew Tonks wouldn't actually kill him, whereas Ron and Bill very well might. Or it might have been that Ginny just figured Tonks would guess after a while—what with the semi-affair they were having. Whatever the reason, Ginny had shown up to the flat the day before and, crying over her cup of tea, explained everything to Tonks. Above all she'd stressed timing, and as Tonks looked at the clock, she knew she couldn't leave yet. To take her mind off the wait, she replayed the previous day in her mind.

* * *

_Tonks slid in fuzzy socks down the hall, managing, for the first time, not to fall or run into the door. Opening the door, she jumped in surprise. "Ginny!"_

"_Is this a bad time?" the redhead asked quietly._

"_No, of course not," Tonks said, standing aside so Ginny could enter. "Are you alright?"_

_Ginny shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. Without a word, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around Tonks._

"_Hey, don't cry. It's alright," Tonks said, holding her. "Come into the living room, and we can talk."_

_It took Ginny a little while to be calm enough to talk, but she finally got around to it. "I can't go back…"_

"_Home?" _

_Ginny nodded, a few more tears slipping out. She pulled away from Tonks and turned to face the metamorphmagus. She lifted her shirt up to reveal a huge, nasty bruise on her stomach._

"_Bloody hell!" Tonks yelped. "What happened?"_

_Ginny leaned into her again and said, bitterly, "Another one of his temper tantrums. It's been happening for a while now."_

"_How long?"_

"_About a year, but never this bad. He completely lost his mind last night. I…."_

_Tonks held her, making sure not to squeeze too hard in case there were bruises she didn't know about. "What?" she asked, kissing Ginny's shoulder._

"_I wanted to tell you before, but I couldn't. I just…I always fought back, and he would always back off. It would be a little slap here or there, or a shove, but he never really…. Last night I thought I was going to die," she finished in a whisper. "It took me all morning to get over here. I could barely walk."_

_Somewhere in her mind, Tonks knew why, but she still had to ask. Just to gauge how painful she needed to make Draco's death. "Why couldn't you walk?"_

_Ginny turned into her, not saying a word. She stayed like that for a long moment before saying, "He said he was tired of waiting for that night."_

_Tonks swallowed the rage that was boiling inside of her. "Have you…do you need me to heal you? Are you still hurting?"_

_Ginny nodded. _

"_Okay," Tonks said, pulling away. _

_Ginny laid back on the couch, shivering. "I couldn't do it all myself."_

"_It's okay. Trust me?"_

_Ginny nodded, unbuttoning her shirt. With Tonks's help, she managed to get all of her clothes off without flinching much. _

_Tonks closed her eyes for a second, trying to keep it together for Ginny's sake. When she opened them again, the bruises hadn't gone away. Gently, she trailed her wand down Ginny's body, healing what she could. Ginny's hips were various shades of blue, but the insides of her legs were the worst. "Ginny?" Tonks said quietly. _

"_Yeah?"_

_She grabbed a throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around the redhead. "I can't heal all of this with just my wand. I'm going to go get ointment from the bathroom. I'll be right back." She waited for Ginny to nod, and then ran down the hall. She rummaged through her medicine cabinet, finding a small jar under two bottles of toothpaste. She grabbed one of the potion vials as well, and walked back to the living room. "Try to relax," she said, gently removing the blanket. "I'm not going to touch you at all, okay? I can do this with the wand."_

_Ginny held completely still until Tonks had finished and she had her clothes back. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the vial Tonks had brought in. _

"_Pain potion," Tonks explained. "Sometimes I get roughed up on a mission, and I hate going to Saint Mungo's for minor things. So I keep this in stock. Drink it quick. It tastes awful, but it works really well."_

_For the rest of the day, they talked. They talked about what happened, what Ginny needed, random things like the Cannons' standing in the league…. Wherever the conversation led, Tonks went with it. All she wanted was for Ginny to feel safe. As the sun began to sink, and the noise of the traffic outside died down, Tonks finally asked a question that had been burning in the back of her mind for the past two years. "Ginny? Why did…why Malfoy?"_

_Ginny was quiet for a second before answering. "When Harry left, I went through this…phase. You were gone; Harry had just run off with my best friend… I felt like I'd never be able to keep anyone around. Everything I did had to be destructive. I couldn't just go out for drinks—I had to get plastered. I couldn't just go for a ride on my broom—it had to be mountain races—"_

"_I'll pretend I didn't hear that, seeing as those are illegal," Tonks said with a smile._

_For the first time that day, Ginny smiled back. "Yes, well… I was in a bad place. Then one night I saw Draco and I figured that was the worst idea I could possibly have. Turns out, we were surprisingly normal while we were dating. Lots of yelling, but it wasn't ever…like this. So when he asked…I don't know…I guess I figured it was my only chance. Then you came back," she added, smiling again for a second._

"_Do you want my help?"_

_Ginny nodded. _

"_Do you trust me?"_

_Ginny nodded again._

_Tonks smiled. "Good. Let's go to your parents' house. You'll be safe there, and it'll give me some time to come up with a plan."_

"_Will you stay?" Ginny asked._

"_If your Mum will let me," Tonks said. "I think she might know that our visits haven't been completely platonic."_

_Ginny snorted. "It's not like we're fucking," she said. "We acknowledge what's between us, instead of playing stupid games. I don't think she'll see it as a big deal. Especially if she finds out about…you know."_

"_If?"_

"_I don't want Ron going to jail tonight," Ginny said simply._

_Tonks nodded and took her hand. A moment later, the apartment was empty._

_

* * *

_

The clock stuck six. Time to go. "Broom!" Tonks called. She held out her hand as it came zooming toward her. She slung it over her shoulder—she wouldn't be riding it, unless something kept her from Apparating. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and after a few moments, opened them again. She pulled her hood up and walked up the steps to Malfoy (formerly Lestrange) Estate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dance with the Devil**

Tonks surveyed the entrance to the mansion. Every pureblood home had a way to prove your family identity, and bypass ringing the bell to get in. Sure enough, she spotted a gargoyle perched on a pedestal next to the door. She closed her eyes and stuck out a finger—which the gargoyle promptly bit. Blood dribbled into its mouth and the door opened with a soft _click_.

She made it to the parlor as Draco reached the middle of his rant at Ginny.

"…can't believe you'd disappear like that! The disrespect! I thought I'd—"

"Shut it, cousin," Tonks said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Draco asked. "How did you get in?"

Tonks held up her finger. "We're related, remember?"

"Get out!"

"Okay," Tonks said, shrugging. "But you'll have to come with me. You see, Magical Law Enforcement gave me the immense honor of arresting you myself."

"What I do in my home is none of your business," Draco sneered.

"Sure it is," Tonks said calmly.

"Where do you think you're going?" Draco bellowed at Ginny. "I'm not done with you yet."

"I'm leaving, Draco," Ginny said, simply.

Tonks stood in between the two of them. They'd decided earlier that Ginny should get out as quickly as possible. It wasn't that the younger witch couldn't handle herself in a duel, it was just that Ginny was still hurt, so it probably wouldn't be a very good idea. She heard Ginny Disapparate and said, "Come with me, Draco."

"If you think I'm going to Azkaban for one minute—"

"Try three years. Ginny's memories, and her injuries, made the head of Magical Law Enforcement cringe." She took out her wand, ready for a fight. "Please don't make me force you."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Draco said, quietly. "You may have been able to get into the house, but you have none of the Black powers."

"You're caught, Draco. You have nowhere to go. An MLE squad is surrounding the mansion as we speak. Fighting me won't get you anywhere."

"We'll see."

The next second, spells were flying. Tonks dodged them easily. Draco's method of dueling was mostly based on trying to trip her up. He'd obviously never seen her in action before. The chairs, lamps, and tables he threw her way were nothing more than annoyances. She did trip a few times, but she'd long since learned how to recover, or use it to her advantage. She chose the latter this time, making it seem like she'd actually fallen. When Draco stepped out from around the corner, she shot a spell at him, sending him flying into the wall.

He struggled to his feet, glaring at her. The room looked like a battle field. He closed his eyes for a moment, a look of serene calm coming over him.

Before Tonks had time to disarm him, the ground started to rumble. "What the hell?" she muttered.

"Again, you've underestimated me, _cousin_," he said. Three skeletal figures rose from the ground. "Another Black talent that I've inherited. I'll make you a deal—you leave now, and I won't let them tear you limb from limb."

Tonks backed away from the group. In a split second, she made her decision—she would fight fire with fire. Stopping in her tracks, she closed her eyes and summoned her own skeletons. Looking across the hall at Draco's astonished face, she said two words, "Fight them."

The skeletons met in the middle of the room with a mighty crash. If the parlor hadn't been destroyed, it certainly was now. Tonks used this time to slip into one of the halls and chase Draco down the stairs. Glass exploded around them as their duel sent ornaments and decorations flying. Draco conjured a deep purple mist that made Tonks feel woozy for a second, but she dropped to the floor before breathing too much of it in. It took all of her concentration, but she managed to pull off a hurricane spell. Wind and rain mixed with the mist, making the foyer of the mansion look like one great purple storm cloud. She directed the wind toward Draco, who flipped through the air. It didn't make too much of a difference, as he was still able to send two electric blue hexes at her.

He dropped to the ground a few feet away from her and yelled, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Tonks dodged, but only just. She sent a compression hex, and then a stunning spell toward him, and he hit the ground. Panting, she walked the rest of the way down the stairs and took his wand. A commotion behind her made her whip around. Their little armies had followed them. "Finite," she said, pointing her wand at them. The six figures dissolved into dust.

Ten members of Magical Law Enforcement came through the door at that moment. All of them looked around, stunned, at the destruction.

"I think I called for backup about five minutes ago," Tonks said, stowing her wand.

"Sorry, Captain Tonks," one of them said. "We didn't want to distract you."

"Just get him to Azkaban."

* * *

***One Week Later***

"Thanks, Billings," Tonks said as she walked down the hall of the jail.

The guard nodded at her and closed the hall's door.

She continued down to one of the larger cells. "Evening, Draco."

"Leave."

"I can't. You see, I have to deliver a message to you. Trust me, I tried to pass this off to a minion, but they're all terrified of you for some reason."

"What do you want?"

"I came to tell you that the divorce has been finalized."

"Good. I didn't want the slut anyway."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Also, all of the Dark Magic paraphernalia in your house was confiscated two days ago. Don't be surprised if your home looks a bit empty…five years from now when you get out."

"Got them to up the sentence, did you?"

"I didn't have to do anything. Three years for what you did to Ginny, one for trying to kill a Ministry official, and one for using Dark Magic."

"Then you should be locked up too," Draco said, finally standing. He walked over and held onto the bars of the cell. "You did give in to your…er…baser instincts."

"Are you really so dense to think that every dark wizard catcher uses stunning spells to bring you psychos in?" she asked.

"No, but I didn't think you'd use anything the Black family is known for."

"Well then you're dumber than I thought. I was playing by the rules you set. That's why I won. I've seen what happens when people think that their noble intentions will triumph over evil. It's called adapting."

Draco sneered at her. "Get out."

"With pleasure." Tonks turned and walked down the hall again.

The guard let her out into the third floor lobby. "How'd he take it, then? Am I going to have to make sure there are no sharp objects around, or take away his shoe laces?"

"Maybe," Tonks said, looking at the door. "But I don't think so."

The guard looked at her for a moment. "What did he say to you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Not exactly. Just saw myself…what I could've been."

The guard looked at her quizzically, but let it drop. "Have a good weekend, then."

Tonks smiled at him and made her way out of the prison. She Apparated back to her flat, but stopped in front of the hall mirror. She changed into her normal appearance, and then changed her hair color—first to black, and then to blonde. Shuddering, she turned her hair purple again.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, looking in from the living room.

"Ginny!" Tonks said, jumping. "I thought you were at your mum's."

"I was, but then I came here to deliver your invitation to the Weasleys' Weekly Dinner. What were you doing?"

"Nothing," she said, smiling. "Let's get back to your parents house." With one last look in the mirror—she was definitely Tonks again—she followed Ginny into the fireplace.


End file.
